Typewriting machine



Dec. 28, 19317.

Mb m@ h! 5 o 'ww om:

N 0 R mm m we m a 4v u n ATTORNEY Dec. 28, 1937. R G TH PSON 2,103,921

TYPEWRITING MACHINE Filed Feb. 20, 1937 5 Sheets-Sheet 2 FIGOZ.

v j I g P S Q F E N m S o 00 INVENTOR RUSSLL G, THOMF'SGH BAY/Q D86. 28,R TH P N ZJDSEZI TYPEWRITING MACHINE Filed Feb. 20, 1937 5 Sheets-Sheet3 INVENTOR RUSSELL a. THOMPSON KKK QQQ G ATTO RN EY Patented Dec. 28,1937.

UNITED STATES 1 PATENT OFFICE mnwnrrmc MACHINE Application February 20,1937, Serial No. 126,903

Claims.

This invention relates to typewriting machines and more particularly tolocking mechanism therefor. It has special application to powerdriventypewriters which have a multiplicity of against operation when theactuator for one type action is in operation, but the carriage-returnactuator is cooperatively associated with the crowding-lock units so asto be prevented from operation when any type action is in printingposition, and furthermore, the operation of returning the carriage locksthe entire type-actionselecting keyboard until the carriage has beenreturned to its home position.

It is a further object of the invention to include in cooperation withsuch a crowding-lock mechanism a simple means for locking thetypeaction-selecting keys when the line-end margin has been reachedbythetraversing carriage.

The invention consists of a row of shiftable units confined betweenlimiting stops at each end with a predetermined amount of looseness orplay, and blades on the various type-action actuators and a blade undercontrol of thecarriagereturn-mechanism actuator and also undercontrol ofcooperative line-end margin stops, any one of which blades is adaptedtobe entered between the shiftable units to close up the row and preventthe introduction of any other blade until the first entered blade hasbeen removed. By this means a key, selected for the purpose of causing atype action, may be operated to engage an actuator for the particulartype action with a driving unit, and this actuator will enter its bladebetween the shiftable units and prevent operation of any othertype-action-selecting key, or the carriage-return key, to move itsactuator into engagement with the driving unit. When, in the course ofthe letter-feed traverse of the carriage, its line-end margin stopengages a cooperative stop mounted. on the frame a locking blade commonto the line-end margin and the 5 carriage-return enters between theunits and the entire type-action-selecting keyboard is locked until themargin release key is manually operated to disengage the cooperativestops which withdraws the blade. After the typing of the last letter ofa line the carriage-return key may be key-selective power-operated typeactions, an

depressed to cause engagement of its actuator with the power-drive unitwhich reintroduces the blade constituting the line-end margin lock andlocks the entire type-action-selecting keyboard during thecarriage-return movement of which a preliminary step is the line-spacingof the roller platen onthe traversing carriage.

In the accompanying drawings:

Fig. l is a side view of a power-driven typewriter with a part of theframe and top cover removed to more clearly show the interiorconstruction. Also for the sake of clearness various parts unnecessaryto an understanding of the present invention have been omitted.

Fig. 2 is a top plan view partly in horizontal section of the machineshown in Fig. i.

Fig, 3 is a view in perspective taken from the rear of the machine withpart of the frame removed and the construction generally skeletonized tomore clearly show the invention.

Fig, 4 is a view in perspective of a part of the crowding lock mechanismand actuating devices for one of the blades.

Fig. 5 is a detail view in end elevation of a part of the line-spacingdevices.

Fig. 6 is a sectional view taken on the line 6-45 of Fig. l.

Referring now more particularly to the drawings, a typewriter frame isindicated at l0 having side walls H and I2 and a rear wall IS. The 'sidewalls I l and I2 are joined by a bar or backbone M reinforcing the frameand for supporting and guiding various actuating devices later to bedescribed. An anchor bar l5 also connects the side walls H and I2 and acomb-slotted bar 18 extends between the side walls of the machine andserves as a support for the shiftable units of the crowding lock device.A paper carriage is indicated at C suitably mounted on the frame for theusual letter-feeding movement under the influence of a conventionalspring motor (not shown) controlled by any suitable escapement mechanismas indicated by the dot-and-dash lines in Fig. 1 at E. The carriage hasopposite end plates 20 rotatably supporting a roller platen 2| and alsosupporting a margin stop rack 22 and a carriage rail 23 mounted inanti-friction bearings in a track 24 supported in the conventional wayby a case-shift or balancing frame, the construction or operation ofwhich frame does not enter into the present invention. Also supportedbetween the end plates of the carriage is a rail 25 the rear edge ofwhich runs against a face plate 26 of a center tie member 21 suitablysupported by the frame of the machine.

A power-drive unit is shown at 38- This unit is preferably in the formof a toothed or fluted roller mounted in suitable bearings in the sidewalls H and i2. This roller is adapted to be continuously rotated by anelectric motor. For transient engagement with the driving unit 30 amultiplicity of actuators 3B are respectively mounted in slots 92 of thebackbone i l and guided in these slots by a pin 33 passing through thebackbone id and common to all of the actuators 3|. These actuators areslotted as shown at 36 to receive the pin 33 and each actuator carries apivoted pawl 95 having teeth 36 adapted to enage the teeth of roller 38when any actuator is moved around the pivot pin 93 by any one of aplurality of dogs 37. These dogs project respectively into the slots 32of the backbone it in position to contact the actuatorstl and swing thepawls 35 into engagement with the driving unit. Each dog is pivoted onthe end of a key lever .98, all of the key levers being of substantiallyuniform shape and'all of them being'pivotedon a rod ll which passesthrough the backbone E4 in parallelism with the rod 33. Upper and lowerstops 42 and 43 limit the range of movement; of the key levers andreturn springs 96 anchored to a plate 45 on bar I5 serve to restore thekey levers against the upper stops 42 when keys 46 are released afterdepression. A key 41 tops a carriage-return lever 48 which is fulcrumedon the rod 4| and is provided with one of the dogs 31 which is adaptedto move an actuator 58 corresponding in design to the actuators 3|except that it has an upper extension 5| pivotally connected to alever.52. This lever is pivoted at 53 to the frame of the machine andits opposite end 54 is pivoted at 55 to a toggle tending arm 6| whichhas a laterally extending lug 62 forming an offset part of ahorizontally extending blade 53 at the bottom of the actuator. At theextreme forward ends, of the blades 63 return springs 84 connect theactuators with an anchor plate 85 secured to the under face of-thebackbone I4. I

A crowding lock'section, best shown in Figs. 1, 2 and 4, comprises thebar 16 extending between the side plates of the frame and a row ofrelatively shiftable units 81 positioned in a shouldered portion 68 ofsaid/bar, which shoulder is formed in part by a platefll secured to theunder face of the bar and extending forwardly. The bar and its attachedplate I0 are comb-slotted as indicated at H to constantly receive thelugs 62 of the actuators and guide the blades in the crowding locksection. The shiftable units 81 are preferably in the form of uniformlysized balls which rest in the shoulder 68 on platforms '2 provided bythe forwardly extending slotted portion of plate 18. The bar I6 islongitudinally milled on its under side toward the front to provide agroove for the reception of the balls 61,

and lips 13 of thebar which are defined by the longitudinal milling andcomb-slotting operations overhang the balls and in conjunction with ltheplatforms 88 retain them in position. End

aioaoai eccentric by which the amount of looseness or play in the entirerow of units may be determined. This amount of play is fixed as thethickness dimension of any one of the blades 63 so that as one blade-isentered between' two adjacentshiftable units the units are tightlypacked between the limiting stops at both ends. Thus 'all other bladesare held against entry and all of the actuators are held againstmovement by their respective keys until the blade previously entered hasbeen withdrawn.

When any type-action-selective key 416 is depressed its associateddogi3i is moved to engage one of the actuators 8i and swing it aroundpivot pin 99 thus engaging its pawl 35 with the driving unit 30. Theswinging movement of the actuator introduces a horizontal part of blade63 between adjacent balls 61. The subsequent downward movement of theactuator introduces, the

. when the blade 8| is in position between the end stop 15 and the nextpositioned ball 81 of the crowding look, no type action may be set inoperation as all of the blades 63 of actuators 3| are held againstmovement.

The devices for controlling movements of the blade 8! will now bedescribed. Theyinvolve, first, a conventional line-end margin stop 82adjustably fixed on the carriage stop rack 22, and a cooperating stop inthe form of a lug 83 forwardly projecting into the path of the stop 82from a bar 84 pivotally supported at one end on /an arm 85 and at theother end on a link 86 which in turn is pivotally supported on an arm81. The arms 85 and 81 are fixed on the upper ends of rock shafts 88 and89 respectively and these shafts are suitably journaled 'in lugs 90 and9| projecting forwardly from the rear wall- I3 of the frame. letter feeddirection from right to left the stop 82 on thecarriage bar 22 engagesthe lug 83 and shifts link '84 from right to left. By arm 85 the rockshaft-88 is rotated to swing a fixed arm 92 and through a connector 93swing a .U- shaped lever 94 around a stud 95 which is fixed in a bracket98 attached to the rear wall l3 of the frame. The movement is in adirection to push forwardly. a rod 18 pivoted to the end of lever 94 at19. The forward end of rod 18 is pivotally; secured to a rocker frame 91which is mounted on a stud 98 projecting from a boss 99 on the side wall12 of the frame. The rocker frame 91 lever is pivoted on a stud I04which passes through the bell crank lever I05 and into a boss 196 ofabar I01 secured to the side walls of the 7 frame and having a laterallyextending arm I98 fora purpose later to be described.

The lower :end of lever I03 has a rearwardly extending portion with aninturned fiange H8.

,A set screw HI passes forwardly through this flange and bears against alip H2 at the lower As the carriage moves in its end of an arm H3 ofbell crank lever-I05. At thev extreme lower end of arm N3 the blade 8|75 is pivoted and normally held retracted from the units of the crowdinglock by a spring I I4.

When the rod 18 is advanced forwardly as stated and rocks the rockerframe 91 the upper end I02 of lever I03 is moved rearwardly advancingset screw III to move the arm II3 of bell crank lever I05 forwardly,which advances theblade 8| into position between the end stop and thenext adjacent ball 61 of the crowding lock mechanism. It will be seen,therefore, that engagement of stop 82 of the carriage with lug 83 causesall the type-action-selecting keys to be locked in the position shown inFig. 1. For the reason that no blade I33 of any actuator can be movedrearwardly around the pivot pin 33 and inasmuch as the dogs 31substantially abut their respective actuators, no appreciable, oractuator-engaging, movement of the key levers can be had.

A margin release key I is shown depressed in Fig. 1 of the drawings. Thekey lever I2I for this key is substantiallyin the form of the other keylevers and is pivoted in like manner on the pin 4I. However, this keylever I2I has a rearward extension I22 the far end of which is providedwith two slots I23 and I24 substantially concentric with the pivot 4 I.In the slot I24 is a pin I25 connecting the end of the margin releaselever with a link I26 which in turn connects with a bell crank lever I21pivotally mounted on the end of extension I08 of bar I01 and thereforepivotally supported by the frame of the machine. The other end of thebell crank lever I21 is connected by a rod I28 with a rock arm I29 fixedon the shaft 89.

When the margin release key is depressed the rear end of the key leverI2I is lifted raising the link I28 and swinging the bell crank lever I21to pull the rod I28 forwardly in a direction diagonal of the machine, asshown in Fig. 2 of the drawings. The rocking of the arm I29 and shaft 89in the consequent direction moves rock arm 81 at the top of the shaft 89to swing the link 84 rearward on the pivot provided by its connec: tionwith the forward end of arm 85. Thus the lug 83 is released fromengagement with the stop 82 and immediately passed beyond said stop byreturn spring I30 which pulls lever 94 back to normal position. Therestoring of lever 94 to normal position moves rocker frame 91 in thereverse direction and through the connections just described removes theset screw III from bell crank lever I05 allowing spring II4 to retractthe blade 8|. To insure the retraction of the blade bell-crank lever I05is positively rocked by the key lever I2I through the extension I22 bypicking up a stud I33 in the slot I23 which stud is on a link I34pivotally connected to the bell-crank I05.

After additional typing, if desired, the carriagereturn key "isdepressed causing engagement of the pawl 35 of actuator 50 with theteeth of driving unit 30. There is a consequent downward movement of theactuator 50 which by reason of its connection with lever 52 pulls downthe end of the lever until it engages a lip I3I on the rocker frame 91.This rocks the frame in the same manner that it was rocked by advancingthe rod 18 under the influence of the margin release stops and throughthe same links and levers the blade 8I is advanced into position betweenthe end stop 15 and the next adjacent ball 81 of the crowding'lockmechanism. Pulling down the end oflever 52 as described also straightensa substantial toggle, constituted by the other end 54 of lever 52 andlink 55, until spring 54 takes effect on the other side of pivot pin 55.This toggle action forces the clutch plate 51 outwardly around suitablefulcrums which cause a friction coupling of tape drum I35 with a shaftI36 which preferably is an extension of the continuously rotating powerdriver 30. The drum I35 rotates to wind up a tape I31 which passesaround an idler I38 mounted on the frame and around another idler I39suitably mounted on the frame and the end of the tape is connected to aline-spacing lever I40 at I4I'.

Winding of the tape I31 on to the drum I35 first pulls down thelinespace lever I40 causing a pawl P to engage with line-spacing ratchetwheel I42 of a conventionalplaten rotating mechanism to line-space theplaten a required amount. The lever I40 is guided in a slot I43 in abracket I44 which also carries the idler I39. When the linespace leverhas reached the limit of its downward movement continued wind ng of thetape returns the carriage until its other margin stop I46 engages lug 83of bar 84. This swings arm 85 and shaft 88 in the reverse direction andacts through the medium of parts 92, 93, 94 and 18 to reverse thedirection of swinging movement of rocker frame 91, thus releasing leverI02 and allowing spring II4 to withdraw blade 8I from its positionbetween the locking units. Also effected by this reverse movement ofrocker frame 91 is the breaking of the toggle 54-56 by the upwardmovement of lip I3I which raises one end of lever 52 to move the pivotalconnection 55 past the center line of spring 56 which latter collapsesthe margin stop, the carriage return key may be de- I pressed withoutfirst operating the margin release lever, thus setting the frictionclutch in operation as heretofore described and returning the carriagedirectly from its position of engagementof stop 82 with lug 83 to itsposition to begin another line of writing.

Adjustable knock-off screws I41 are threaded in the bar I6 in positionto engage cam faces I48 of the respective actuators 3| and disengagethem from the driving unit by throwing or swinging their lower endsforwardly around the pin 33 against a stop face of the backbone I4. Whenthus released from the driving unit each actuator is returned upwardlyby its spring 64 and by conventional return springs for the connectedtype action.

A universal bar I underlies the lock section and is adapted to beactuated by each actuator as it is thrown down by the power drive unit30. The bar I50 is mounted on a rock shaft I5I suitably journaled in themachine frame and this shaft has connections for operating theescapement E as each actuator is moved downwardly between the balls 61and through the slots H in plate 10 of the locking unit.

What is claimed is:

1. In a power-driven typewriter having a frame, a carriage adapted totraverse the frame, a multiplicity of type actions, a carriage-returnmechanism, a driving unit, actuators transiently engageable with thedriving unit to operate the type actions and the carriage-returnmechanism, and keys for causingsaid engagementr the combination of alocking mechanism for the said keys,

comprising a row of relatively shiftable units loosely confined withinlimits, and blades con.-

trolled respectively by the said actuators for the 'type actions and thecarriage-return mechanism,

any one of which blades is adapted to enter between the limits and takeup the looseness of the units to thereby prevent the introduction ofmore than one blade at a time.

2. In a power-driven typewriter having a frame, 'a carriage adapted totraverse the frame, a multiplicity of type actionsQa carriage-returnmechanism, a driving unit, actuatorstransiently engageable with thedriving unit to operate the type actions and the carriage-returnmechanism, and keys for causing said engagement; the combination of alocking mechanism for said keys, comprising a row of relativelyshiftable units loosely confined within limits, a blade and operatingconnections controlled by the actuator for the carriage -returnmechanism, and a blade on each of the actuators for the type actions,any one of said blades, when its actuator 'iaengaged with the drivingunit, being adapted to enter between the limits and shift the units totake up the looseness of the units and thereby prevent the introductionof more than one blade at a time.

3. In a power-driven typewriter having ,7 a

frame, arcarriage adapted to traverse the frame, a multiplicity of typeactions, a carriage-return mechanism, a driving unit, actuatorstransiently engageable with the driving unit to operate the type actionsand the carriage-return mechanism, and keys for causing said engagement;the combination of a locking mechanism for said keys, comprising a rowof relatively shiftable units loosely confined within limits, a bladeand operating connections controlled by the actuator for thecarriage-retum mechanism, a blade on each of the actuators for the typeactions, any one of said blades, when its actuator is engaged with thedriving unit, being adapted to enter between the limits and shift theunits to take up the looseness of the units and thereby prevent theintroduction of more than one blade at a time, cooperative line-endmargin stops on the carriage and frame,

and connections between the frame stop and the blade controlled by thecarriage-return actuator for causing said blade to enter between 'saidlimits when the frame stop is enga ed by the carriage aioaear mechanism,and keys ,for causing said engagement; the combination of a lockingmechanism for said keys, comprising a row of relatively shiftable unitsloosely confined within limits, a blade and operating connectionscontrolled by the actuator for the carriage-return mechanism, a blade oneach of the actuators for the type actions, any one of said blades, whenits actuator is engaged with the ,driving unit, being adapted to enterbetween the limits and shift the units to take up the looseness of theunits and thereby prevent the introduction of more than one blade at atime, cooperative'line-endmargin stops on the carriage and frame, connecion's between the frame stop and the blade controlled by thecarriage-return actuator for causing said blade to enter between saidlimits when the frame stop is engaged by the carriage stop, and a marginrelease key and connections for disengaging said stops andsimultaneously withdrawing the last mentioned blade.

5. In a power-driven typewriter having a frame, a carriage adapted totraverse the frame, a multiplicity of type actions, a carriage returnmechanism, a driving unit, actuators transiently engageable with thedriving unit to operate the type actions and the carriage-returnmechanism, and keys for causing said engagement;

the combination of a locking mechanism for said Q keys, comprising a rowof relatively shiftable units loosely confined within limits, 9. bladeand operating connections controlled by the actuator for thecarriage-return mechanism, a blade on each of the actuators for the typeactions, any one of said blades, when its actuator is engaged withthedriving unit, being adapted to enter between the limits to take upthe looseness of the units and thereby prevent the introduction of morethan one blade at a time, a line-spacing mechanism operative as apreliminary to the carriage-retu n operation upon the establishment ofengagement between the carriage-return actuator and the driving unit,cooperative line-end margin stops on the carriage and frame, connectionsbetween the framestop and the- '.blade controlled by the carriage-returnactuator for causing said blade to enter between said limits when theframe stop is engaged by the cooperative' stop onthejcarriage," and amargin release key and connections for disengaging said stops andsimultaneously-withdrawing the last mentioned blade.

' RUSSELL G. THOMPSON.

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